Process of impregnating timbers



Oct. 15, 1929;

T. w. SMITH I,

PROCESS OF IMPREGNATING TIMBERS Filed July 27, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Oct. 15, 1929. a w SMITH 1,731,443

v PROCESS OF @MPREGNATING TIMBERS Filed July 27, 1928 2 Sh'etS-Sheet 2wuen to'a .meoa o 2'6 7. 57212% Patented Oct. 15, 1929 ATENT" orF cETHEODORE W. SMITH, OF INDIANA POLIS,

INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO PETER INDIANAPOLI S, INDIANA.

o. REILLY, or

rnocnss or mranonsrme mmimns Application filed Jul 27,

This invention pertains to an improved tion shall be equal to-the amountwhich it is method of impregnating timbers.

same.

Timbers taken from the same tree, as timbers taken from different trees,vary in physical characteristics and hence vary as to the amount ofliquid which they will absorb or which may be forced into the same underthe like or similar conditions.

Thus, for instance, in the treatment of railroad ties a hard, solid orclose grained tie will resist penetration of the impregnating liquidwhereas a soft or spongy tie, and which is mechanicall Under the usualspecifications as to the preservation of ties'or timbers a given amountof preservative liquid, is required; it will t erefore be seen thatwherea number of ties are impregnated at one and the same time-or wherethe ties are individually treated and subject to the same treatmentuniformity not obtain due to the physical differences 0 timber abovementioned; It is, of course, a waste of material to over impregnate amechanically weak tie and it is likewise detrimental to the longevity ofa structurally perfect tie not to sufficiently impregnate the Under themethod herein set forth all timbers'say tiesmay be given the desireddegree or amount of impregnation with the assurance that each and everytie will have an equal amount of liquid forced into the same.

' Stated in general terms, my method may be said to comprise thefollowing steps:

Placing a tie within i ing an amount of liquid equal to the volume ofthe empty cylinder into the cylinder inwhich the tie is placed allowingthe excess of liquid to flow outwardly therefrom, segregating a as" wellshort lived, will not only readily receive the liquidbut in some casesas er cubic foot of wood,-

I with the cover t ereof of lmpregnation .do'es f". place therein,

a cylinder, then pass'-' 1928. Serial No. 295,798. portion of theoutflowing liquid, which pordesired shall be injected or forced into thetie to secure the necessary or specified impregnation, and finallyforcing such amount into the tie.

Stated in another way,=the method may be said to comprise measuring thecubical content of the tie by flowing a, quantity of liquid equal to thecubical capacity of .acontainer in which the tie is placedallowing theexcess liquid to overflow from the container, segregating a portion ofthe outflowing liquid, said portion bearing a fixed ratio to the cubicalcontent of the timber, and thereafter forcing such into the timber.

Various forms of apparatus may be em-.

ployed to carry out the method hereinafter more specifically set forthbut in order that the invention ma be more readily understood andavpractical orm thereof set forth reference is had to the annexeddrawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a treating cylinder and so much of theappurtenant apparatus parts as is necessary to carryout the method,

Figure 2 a erspective 'view of a weir removed which is em segregating aportion of the liquid ployed for the tie is in passing into the cylinderwhen 3 atop plan view of the weir,

.Figure 4 a vertical sectional view 0 Figure weir, and vFigure 5 a topplan the cover removed showing the relationship of the various parts.

It is to be understood, of course, that the apparatus-hereinafterdescribed is to be taken as merely indicative of one means whereby themethod may be practiced.

In another 7 application a more detailed showing of an apparatus, whichis automatic in its action, is set forth and claimed,hence f the noclaim is made herein" broadly to any suchv mechanism. a

In the drawings, mg 7 may be of any approved form. A single head 1denotes a cylinder havinto said container,

view of the weir with removable heads or ends 2 and 3 which 60segregated portion v whereof is rounded and fits into a rounded remay beemployed if desired although where the apparatus is employed with tiepresenting and removin mechanism the presence of the two heads is foundadvantageous.

Opening into the cylinder is a valved liquid supply pipe 4 in which ismounted a metering device 5 designed to show the attendant when anamount of impregnating liquid equal to the known cubical content of thecylinder has passed through the pipe 4. The cylinder is also providedwith a valved outlet, designated by 6, which opens through a .port 7,Figures 4 and 5, into a weir denoted generally by 8.

The w eir, as will be seen, comprises a c-ylindrical body, the lower endof which is closed except for the ports which enter the same. Extendingupwardly from the bottom '9 of the weir is a verticaly disposedpartition cess 15 formed in the vertical inner edge of the partition 10.This rounded portion of the blade extends upwardly as at 16 through Athe cover 17 ofthe weir and has attached to its upper end alaterallyextending finger 18, the outermost end whereof is bent'downwardly and carries a locking screw 19.' The face of the cover belowthe indicator arm 18 is raduated so as to show the position of the Eladeor vane 15 with reference to the inlet chamber and consequently toindicate the proportionate flow @of the liquid from the inlet chamber tothe outlet chambers from which the ports 13 and 14 discharge.

Extending inwardly from the Walls 11 and 12 below the blade or vane 15is a bafile or partition 20 which acts to prevent upward surge of theliquid as it is flowing into the weir.

Vent pipes 21 and 21 are mounted in the cover to prevent the weir frombecoming trapped or air bound.

The port 14 is connected a pipe 22 which leads to the storage tank (notshown) from which the supply of impregnating material is drawn andpumped back as occasion requires through the intake pipe 4 and throughthe metering device Port 13 is interconnected with a pipe 23, whichlatter extends to a cylinder 24. The

ward the cylinder 24. A branch line 26 is interconnected with the pipe23 intermediate the cylinder 24 and the check valve 25, said A checkvalve 2 is interposed in the line 26, said valve opening in thedirection of the cylinder 1, or opposite to that of the check valve 25.

An air line 28 connected to any suitable source of air under pressureand provided with a control valve 29 opens-into the cylinder 24.

A.vent cock 30 is also in communication with the cylinder 24 in orderthat the air may be allowed to escape therefrom when the impregnatingliquor which is to be forced into the tie or timber under treatmentflows from the weir into the cylinder 24.

The air entering the pipe '28 may act directly upon the upper face ofthe liquid contained in the cylinder 24 to force the same outwardly whendesired, or it may act upon the upper face of a piston 31 mountedtherein and provided with a piston rod 32, which tends to guide andproperly position the piston.

A draw-off or drain cook 33 is provided for the cylinder or tank 1 andsuch draw-01f may,

of course, load to the reservoir where the supply of impregnating liquidis maintained. It is thought that the operation of the apparatus will befully understood but it may be briefly stated as follows:

A tie being placed within the cylinder 1, the

heads 2 and 3 thereof will be closed. Thereupon liquid to the amount ofthe cubical content of the cylinder will'be allowed toflow through theintake pipe 4, the..amount being readily ascertainable through the meter5. An amount of the liquid equal to the cubical content of the tie will,of course, pass through the valved outlet 6 and through the weir. Thewing or blade 15 of the weir will have beenadjusted to such a positionthatthe desired amount or proportion of the overflow from the tankl willpass from the opening 13 into the line 23 and hence into the cylinder24. The remaining portion will pass through the line 22 to the storagetank.

Before starting the operation it is necessary to adjust the vane of theweir so that the requisite amount of oil to be injected into the tie ortimber will be diverted through the pipeline 23 into cylinder 24 fromwhich the oil San be forced through pipeline 26 into cylin- As willreadily be appreciated, by swinging the vane 15 to one or the other sidewith reference. to the opening 7 the amount of liquid which will passover the walls ll and 12 may be determined.

By swinging the arm 18 to the right, Figures 3 and 5, the flow over thewall 12 into the outlet 13 will be decreased whereas the flowover thewall 11 and into the discharge opening 14 will be increased. line 23,contains a check valve 25 opening to- When the requisite amount ofliquid has been metered into the cylinder 1 the valve in the pi e 4 iscut off as is also the valved outlet 6. a he operator will'then opentheair valve in the line 28, the vent valve 30 being meanwhile closed,and air under pressure will displace the liquid from the cylinder 24 andforce it through the pipe 26 and past the check valve 27 into thecylinder 1 and the pressure is maintained until the rod 32 is movedinwardly to such an extent as to indicate that the amount of liquidcontained within the cylinder 24 has been forced into the cylinder 1 andconsequently into the timber placed therein. a

From this it will be seen that irrespective of the physical nature ofthe timbers or ties each piece will have forced into the same, under theabove operation, an equal quantity of liquid. Thus a good tie willobtain its full amount as will a poor tie, considered from its physicalstructure, and the latter will not be pregnation physical to receive orabsorban impregnating impregnated with surplus liquid, which may belooked upon as wastage when it is so applied;

It is to be understood that the apparatus herein illustrated is to beconsidered more or less as a diagrammatic showing and in ac-' tualpractice the opening and closing of the heads 2 and 3 for theintroduction and removal of the tie or timber and the manipulation ofthe valves controlling the introduction and withdrawal of the liquid andthe pressure which is applied to the liquid to produce impregnation areautomatically controlled and work'in timed relation.

No claim is made herein to the apparatus shown and described as the sameforms the subject matter of my copending application filed September8rd, 1929, Serial Number 390,142.

What is claimed is:

1. That method of effecting uniform im-' of timbers irrespective oftheir physical characteristics which consists in individuallydeterminingthe cubical content of each timber as it is treated byplacing the same in a container of known cubical capacity; thereafterpassing liquid into said container in a quantity equal to the cubicalconthe container and allowing the excess tent of liquid to flow out ofthe container; segregating a portion of the outflowing liquid, saidportion being in a fixed ratio to the cubical content of the timber; andfinally forcing said segregated portion back into the container wherebyliquid'in a quantity equal to such equal to the cubical content of thetimber to flow out of the container; segregating a proportionate amountof said outflowing liquid and finally forcing said segregated portionback into the container whereb liquid in aportion will flow from thecontalner; and thereafter forc ing a predetermined portion of the excessliquid back into the container. v

4. That method of uniformly impregnating pieces of timber having varyingphysical characteristics in a container of known cubical capacity whichconsists in determining the cubical volume of each piece of timberby-the immersion thereof in a body of liquid equal to the cubicalcapacity of the container; and thereafter forcing into each piece oftimher an amount of liquid equal to a determinate proportion of theliquid initially displaced from the container by the timber whendetermining its cubical volume.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

THEODORE W. SMITH.

segregated portion will be forced into the timber.-

2. That method of effecting uniform impregnation of timbers possessingdifferent characteristics affecting their capacity liquid which,COIlS1StS 1I1 individually determining the cubical; content of eachtimber as' it is treated by placing the sa'mein a container of knowncubical capacity;

thereafter passingliquid' into said container in a quantity equal to thecubical content of the container and allowing. the liquid'in an amount

